There are many ways to improve the appearance and functionality of your home and still not break the bank. The following 20 home-renovation projects on a budget will upgrade and add value to your home.
20. Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans aren’t just for summer. In winter, they can circulate heated air to keep a room warm. In summer, they can reduce the strain on air conditioners. Ceiling fans are relatively simple to install. Often, the wiring from existing ceiling lights can be used. Ceiling fans come with and without lighting, as well as optional remote controls.
19. A Fresh Bead of Bathroom Caulk
If your bathroom caulking has a brown tinge or cracking around the edges, it needs refreshing. The materials are inexpensive. You can even buy powered caulking guns that lay down a perfect bead. In an hour, you can remove and replace old caulk with a fresh seal. This ensures water won’t seep into your drywall or under your tile.
18. Bathroom Vent Fan to Prevent Mold
If you have a bath that lacks a vent fan, it’s an important upgrade to add. The fan helps remove moisture, helping to prevent mold and mildew growth. It’s critical for any bathroom lacking windows. If your bathroom has windows, the fan will eliminate fogged mirrors and windows, as well as remove stale odors. It’s an easy and affordable upgrade.
17. Low-Cost Flooring for Laundry and Mud Rooms
Vinyl tile is an inexpensive flooring material that comes in dozens of colors, patterns, and textures. Anyone can install these self-adhesive 12×12-inch tiles. It’s easy to create checkerboard designs or colorful contrasting borders. Vinyl tile is crack-resistant and easy to clean. It’s great for laundry and mud rooms, but can also be installed in bathrooms and kitchens as well.
16. Refinish Exterior Wood Doors
Exterior wooden doors take a beating from the elements. Every so many years they need a refinishing to keep them in good shape. Repaint painted doors. You might consider adding a clear urethane topcoat for extra protection from water. A mixture of boiled linseed oil and urethane varnish can refresh wood doors with a natural wood finish.
15. Install a Water Filter and Stop Buying Drinking Water
Concerns over the quality and taste of tap water have caused millions of families to purchase bottled drinking water continually. However, that expense could be saved by installing an under-sink water filtration system. The under-sink filter will remove impurities and ensure that the water that goes into your refrigerator, icemaker, coffee, tea, and food is clean and tastes great.
14. Divide Perennials
Dividing the perennials in your garden every 3 to 6 years is one way to get more flowers. The rule of thumb is to split apart the spring- and summer-blooming perennials in late summer or before the first frost of fall. This technique can also help multiply the number of specimens in the garden, invigorate growth, and control plant size.
13. Refinish Kitchen Cabinets
Dark cabinets can suck all the light out of a room. Refinishing and/or repainting kitchen cabinets is one way to brighten up your cooking space on a budget. With some cleaner, sandpaper, a paintbrush, and paint, you can transform your kitchen over a weekend. The cost of refinishing your cabinets is a fraction of installing even the cheapest new ones.
12. Add Interior Shutters
In the old days, in southern and urban houses, interior shutters were common. This lost style is making a comeback and can give your home a sophisticated, architectural look. Even better, can keep out the chill of winter or the heat of summer. Interior wood or faux wood shutters are easy to install on any window.
11. Repaint Old Flooring
If your home has wooden floors that are already painted, repainting them is an inexpensive way to refresh the look. Likewise, if you have wood floors covered by old, worn carpeting, you can remove the carpeting and paint the wood flooring underneath. You don’t have to go with a single solid color, you can use patterns. There are many possibilities.
10. Improve Landscaping
Making improvements to your landscaping is one of the best returns on investment you can make for your home’s value. Pressure washing walkways and driveways, installing landscape lighting, flowers, and fresh mulch, and adding a fire pit can do wonders. Also, prune trees and shrubs. A well-manicured yard adds curb appeal.
9. Revitalize Flooring
Installing new flooring can be an expensive upgrade. If you’re on a budget, there are ways you can revitalize your existing flooring to create a fresh look. For example, for carpet, you can simply have it professionally shampooed. For hardwoods, they can be refinished. For tile, it can be re-glazed. These cost a fraction of what a new installation costs.
8. Update Trim, Add Crown Molding
Updating or adding trim and crown molding can add new character and elegance to your existing rooms. Crown molding comes in various materials including wood, MDF fiberboard, rubber, and polystyrene foam. For areas with moisture, such as a bathroom, PVC crown molding is a better option. For best results, paint crown molding or trim before installing.
7. Install Custom Storage
One thing you can never have too much of, and something homebuyers always seek, is storage areas. Consider adding custom storage areas to places in your home that have unused space. This could be under stairs, in an attic, under a bay window, overhead in a garage, or elsewhere. Adding custom storage is useful and adds value to the home.
6. Install Built-In Bookshelves
You can improve your home’s value by creating more storage options. One easy way that can create a stunning focal point and elegance is to add a built-in bookshelf. To add value, make sure it is constructed of high-quality wood. There are lots of ways to build bookshelves in your home if you decide to do it yourself.
5. Upgrade Lighting
Enhancing the lighting in your house can make a dramatic difference. The types of fixtures in your house may be what’s making your rooms look dated. Fixtures can be relatively inexpensive to replace. Plus, switching your lighting to LED lights can greatly improve your home’s illumination and energy efficiency. Consider upgrading your exterior lighting as well.
4. Swap Window Treatments
If you can’t afford to install new windows, new window treatments can do wonders for updating and improving the look and feel of your home. There are lots of options to choose from including blinds, shutters, shades, curtains (from shears to patterns), or blackout drapes. All of these can drastically transform the look of your home’s windows.
3. Replace Bath Hardware
An easy, inexpensive way to give your bathroom a fresh, modern look is by replacing the hardware. Aged hardware often makes the design of a bathroom look dated, old, or worn. For example, swapping out chrome for gold can make your bathroom feel more elegant. Likewise, a modern shower faucet can make your bathroom look and feel like a spa.
Read More: Instant Curb Appeal Projects to Make Your Neighbors Jealous
2. Update Cabinets
Updating cabinets is far less expensive than installing new ones, which can run into thousands of dollars with the cost of new materials, installation, and the demolition of old cabinets. There are several ways you can improve your existing cabinets such as refacing them, painting them, and/or installing new hardware.
Read More: 5 Surefire Ways to Increase Your Home Value
1. Repaint Areas of Your Home
One of the least expensive ways of making areas of your home look new and fresh is to repaint them. Repainting can remove marks, stains, and dirt from your walls giving them a fresh appearance. Further, repainting the exterior of your home cannot only update its appearance but improve the value of your home as well.
Read More: The Top Signs Your Home Needs Window Replacements
